Down Highway 431, desperate families gathered at a gas station, pickup trucks loaded with belongings, waiting for water in their homes to recede. According to witnesses, the woman was seen Saturday night attempting to turn around in high water when her vehicle was swept away, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office said.
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More than 20,000 people had to evacuate their homes and as many as 10,000 were living in emergency shelters, officials said, after rains pummelled much of southern Louisiana starting last Thursday evening.
She was anxious about her mother who lives just up the road. High waters made the trip impassable and cellphone problems made it hard to reach her.
Just when it looked like she was lost, the woman stuck her arms out of the water toward him.
“No – she better not be”, the woman said, her voice strained.
The Coast Guard said it had rescued more than 118 people and assisted more than 766 in Baton Rouge Sunday. She used a saw, a screwdriver and her feet, knocking her way through wood, vinyl and sheet rock and was eventually rescued by National Guard soldiers on a boat.
Stay tuned for more updates on the State of Louisiana’s flood disasters.
From the ground it was just as catastrophic. Abandoned cars were pushed to the side of the road, lawn furniture and children’s toys floating through the waters.
Officials warn that the danger has not yet passed, as more rain is expected.
Flooding in Louisiana submerged large parts of the region on the US Gulf Coast on Sunday, three days after water-swelled streams and rivers began overflowing.
The Comite River near Baton Rouge and Amite River near Denham Springs, both in Louisiana, were predicted to set record crests over the weekend. Reports indicate 15 rivers are in record flood stage.
Some areas such as the town of Zachary received more than 2 feet of rain in a 48-hour period that ended Saturday morning.
Obama on Sunday signed a disaster declaration for New Orleans, which makes federal funding available for people in four parishes: East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa.
“Even with the sunshine out today intermittently, the waters are going to continue to rise in many areas, so this is no time to let the guard down”, Edwards said, calling the flooding unprecedented.
“Get my dog, get my dog”, she said, her frantic voice, choked with water.
“This is a serious event”. He and his family were even forced to leave the Governor’s Mansion when chest-high water filled the basement and electricity was shut off. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said at least 100 pets have been rescued since Friday.
Police said Sunday that a woman’s body had been retrieved from inside a flooded vehicle at North Hampton.
More than 1,000 vehicles with people trapped in on Interstate 12 have been rescued while over 200 roads have been closed and more than 1,400 bridges will have to be inspected, he added.
Members of the Louisiana Army National Guard rescue people from rising floodwater near Walker, La.
Searches are continuing for missing people, as the rain is expected to continue over the weekend.
Kunzelman reported from Baton Rouge.
Matthew and Rachel Fitzpatrick, from Brandon, Mississippi, hopped off one of the choppers with her grandparents.
Baton Rouge’s The Advocate is publishing regular updates on the flooding here.
Matthew and Rachel Fitzpatrick were brought to a church that had become a shelter by helicopter and told The Associated Press there were between 250 and 300 people still there Sunday.
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Emergency crews plucked motorists from stranded cars in high water along a stretch of south Louisiana interstate yesterday and pulled others from inundated homes.
